Development of quaternary Fe–B–Y–Nb bulk glassy alloys with high glass-forming ability

Abstract

The effects of niobium (Nb) addition on the glass-forming ability (GFA), crystallization behavior, and compressive mechanical property of iron (Fe)–boron (B)–yttrium (Y) alloys have been investigated. Among the (Fe71.2B24Y4.8)100−xNbx (x = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8) alloys investigated, (Fe71.2B24Y4.8)96Nb4 exhibits the highest GFA, enabling the formation of glassy rods with a maximum diameter of 7 mm, which is the largest among quaternary Fe-based alloys. The comparison of the crystallization behavior of the alloys shows that the formation of metastable Fe23B6 phase during crystallization in the (Fe71.2B24Y4.8)96Nb4 alloy can suppress the formation of other stable crystalline phases such as α-Fe, enhancing the stability of the glass phase. The present results show that the attainment of a significantly high GFA is possible even in a quaternary Fe-based alloy system by properly tailoring the competing crystalline phase by the modification of liquid chemistry.